God came personally into our world as Jesus.  He came to rescue us from the present evil age and to bring us into a relationship with himself.  In coming to us this way, God revealed himself so that we can now see what he is like.  Furthermore, the inbreaking of God into the realm of darkness also made visible the extent to which all human beings are in the grasp of powers larger than themselves. These cosmic powers are enemies of God that reign over the whole world holding humans as captives. But, God came into this dark realm to defeat his enemies and reclaim the world that he created. And so, we must say that the gospel is first, last and always about God’s powerful and gracious initiative. He has entered our world to do for us what we could never do for ourselves as captives within the domain of darkness. 

God’s reclaiming of the world means liberation for humans.  In Christ, we are set free from sin and death and all the powers that held us in bondage.  Now we are free to live with God and for God.  However, our liberation is not complete.  We still sin and we also die.  And yet, in union with Jesus, we have died to sin to live new lives sharing in Jesus’ resurrection.  Furthermore, we have also received God’s Spirit who is the Presence of the future and the guarantee of our full liberation to come. Truly, God has rescued us from the domain of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.  Now we live as the  community of the King under his reign of light and life and love.